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Orange County Register

Joining the fight against human trafficking

I was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and brought to California at the age of 1.

Throughout my childhood, I lived in low-income neighborhoods and can recall a time when my family lived in a garage, where all four of us slept together on a queen bed.

Growing up, I was conscious of the constant violence in our neighborhoods, and police were often called because of the nonstop crime surrounding us. As an undocumented undergraduate, I dreamed about being an intern in Washington, D.C., but the idea seemed impossible, as I had no way to fund such a journey.

As the years went by, I earned a bachelor’s degree with the help of many donors who assisted in financing my education. After working in the food industry for a few years, I was finally able to save enough money to apply to grad school.

I had also been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allowed me to obtain an identification card that I could present at any airport. This meant a lot to me since for many years I had not set foot in an airport due to the fear of being deported.

Continue reading the complete article by Nancy Yunuen Gonzalez, who earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Cal State Fullerton in 2010 and is now working on a master’s degree in social work with a concentration in child welfare.